The death of a driver Saturday on Highway 8 west of Calgary — nearly a year after two teens died in separate collisions on the same stretch of road — have renewed calls for the province to improve traffic safety in the area.

Wildrose MLA Bruce McAllister said he was sickened to learn someone was killed and hopes the province will finally move to finish the ring road, twin the highway or take other measures to make the roadway safer.

“It’s driver error, or always seems to be. But, unfortunately, the circumstances don’t allow any room for error,” McAllister said over the weekend. “There’s too much traffic, too many trucks. We’ve got a problem and someone needs to deal with it.”

Just before 1 p.m. Saturday, paramedics were called to the highway near Range Road 34 and Highway 22 to respond to a fiery head-on crash between a tractor-trailer and an SUV, said EMS spokesman Adam Loria.

The driver of the Jeep — a man between 50 and 60 — was killed instantly, said Redwood Meadows fire Chief Rob Evans. The driver of the tractor-trailer, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Evans said the tractor-trailer, which was carrying dry goods bound for Walmart, caught fire but was not fully engulfed.

“Its diesel tank had been ripped off but the trailer was not completely burned.”

The SUV ended up about 90 metres away in the ditch. Evans said it was “lucky” no one else was involved in the collision.

“Like any weekend, the highway was very busy with traffic,” Evans said.

This is the year’s first fatal crash on Highway 8. Last August, Chase Hudye, 19, and Dustin Peers, 18, died days apart after their vehicles crossed the centre line and were struck by oncoming semis.

McAllister, who raised the roads’ safety issues at the legislature earlier this year, said the highway was never intended to be a trucking route. But truck drivers often take the highway to avoid a “giant climb” on Sarcee Trail.

“For a trucker, it makes sense. But it’s adding to congestion and creating a real dangerous situation,” he said.

McAllister suggested the government fast track work on the west leg of the ring road, while it awaits a deal with Tsuu T’ina officials to complete the southwest portion of the ring road.

If not, the province should consider twinning Highway 8. He said the roadway meets the threshold for twinning, noting an average of 24,500 vehicles travel the highway, with semis making up 20 per cent of those vehicles.

“We can’t wait and hold an entire community effectively hostage while we await a deal,” he said.

The group Not on 8, made up of residents in the Elbow Valley and Springbank areas, believes the solution is to move truck traffic off Highway 8 and onto Stoney Trail.

“We are not against industry,” said Sondra Bohna, who helped form the group after learning the two teens killed were classmates of her daughter. “But the cost of human lives and potential for disaster is huge.”

She said Highway 8 is an undivided rural route with 22 uncontrolled intersections. But Stoney Trail was “purpose built” for trucks and heavier traffic.

She said the group met with Transportation Minister Ric McIver in late March to discuss their concerns.

McIver told the Herald the Not on 8 group is “well-meaning,” adding he listened to them carefully and is taking their concerns into consideration.

However, he said there are no plans to ban or restrict truck traffic on Highway 8. He said the highway is part of a provincial network of roadways meant for all vehicles.

Currently, Highway 8 — which McIver said is “in the top half of safe highways in Alberta” — is not part of the government’s three-year construction schedule.

But there are plans in place to have the twinning work done “when the time comes.”

“The traffic volumes are such that it’s just reaching the point where it qualifies to be considered for twinning,” he said. “Because of that, we’ve done a lot of pre-planning for that.”

McIver said the province continues to negotiate with Tsuu T’ina on a ring road deal.

He said the province also worked with Rockyview County to build a bicycle path, which separates bicycle traffic from vehicle traffic on Highway 8.

“Regardless of how safe highways are,” he said, “it is a very, very serious reminder to Albertans to please drive carefully, please be patient and get there alive for the sake of your loved ones and the loved ones of other people on the road.”

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